LAWRENCEVILLE - While about 9,000 Gwinnett high school seniors celebrated the culmination of their K-12 careers last week, the last bell has also rung for veteran employees retiring this school year.

Gwinnett County Public Schools bid farewell to 252 retirees at its annual luncheon Wednesday at the Gwinnett Center.

Collectively, this year's retirees have contributed 6,799 years to education - 4,868 years of which have been spent in Gwinnett, according to a news release. In fact, 10 percent of the retirees worked their entire careers in Gwinnett's classrooms, offices, cafeterias, buses and shops. More than half have more than 30 years of service in education, and five have more than 40 years in education.

Fewer people, however, retired this year. Last year, the school system honored nearly 300 retirees.

"We think it's because of the economy," school system spokesman Jorge Quintana said. "People are staying put."

SideBar: Gwinnett Retirees

The Gwinnett County Public Schools retirees are as follows:

* Charles Ackey, custodian, Environmental and Supply Services, 10 years in education, all in Gwinnett

* Mary Adams, special education bus manager, Transportation, 13 years in education, 12 years in Gwinnett